By Associated Press - Thursday, May 14, 2015

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - Police say two brothers in their early 70s who died earlier this year in their Lancaster home were malnourished and froze to death.

LNP reported Thursday (https://bit.ly/1IDdZ5k ) that a report by the coroner about the deaths of James and William Hougendobler concluded they died of hypothermia.

A family member found them Feb. 26 inside the home that lacked a functioning furnace. They’d been heating their home with the oven.



The coroner says it’s likely they’d been dead for weeks by then. He says they appeared to have been living a simple life and had little contact with others.

A Lancaster Township supervisor calls it a preventable tragedy because there are services available if they’d asked for help.

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Information from: LNP, https://lancasteronline.com

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